U.S. stocks erased their losses in early afternoon trade on Wednesday, with first the Nasdaq <.IXIC> turning positive. The S&P 500 and the Dow industrials quickly followed suit, advancing into positive territory.

Cisco was up 1.9 percent at $23.74 and led the Nasdaq's gain, while the S&P Info Technology sector index <.GSPT> rose 0.6 percent.

Higher commodity prices also gave a boost to energy and natural resources shares. The front-month U.S. oil futures contract rose $2.98, or more than 4 percent, to $69.69 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 13.46 points, or 0.14 percent, at 9,755.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 1.17 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,061.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 10.40 points, or 0.49 percent, at 2,134.44.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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